Exploring South Dakota

Wednesday, Day 154:  As we were entering South Dakota on Monday, we came to an area where they were doing road construction.  We had just missed the “lead car”, so we had to sit for 10-15 minutes until it returned.  The flag lady came over to talk to us, and we visited the whole time with her.  She was Lokata and lived in Rapid City.  We were telling her our plans, so she started giving us some advice on where to go.  She told us the best route to take into the Badlands to see wildlife, as well as what kind of animals we could expect to see.  She was a very interesting lady.

This morning, we were afraid that we’d run out of time and not get to visit the Badlands.  We went to see the Crazy Horse Monument first.  The museum and cultural center were as interesting as we’d been told to expect.  After that we went to Mount Rushmore.  It was really cool to see and learn about the construction of it.  The visitor’s center was very informative.  I’d never understood exactly why those 4 presidents had been chosen.  When I read the reasoning behind it, I had chills run up my spine and tears fill my eyes.  We finished up there around 2:00, so we decided we still had time to drive to the Badlands.  I’m not sure we would have, if we hadn’t had the conversation that we’d had with our Lakota flag lady (it was about an hour and a half drive to the entrance of the park).  It turned out being WELL worth the trip!  Not only were the Badlands gorgeous and worth viewing, but we ended up seeing wild bighorn sheep!  Our whole married life (over 36 years), we have always wanted to travel to where we could see wild bighorn.  Of all the wild game animals that we have enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of, the bighorn sheep has always been at the top of our “want to see” list.  We were able to see 15 sheep!  We had the opportunity to approach close enough to get some great pictures, too.  What a treat!  It made for a very long day (we were gone sightseeing from about 7:30 am until about 10:00 pm), but it was one that we will NEVER forget!  So today, I am thankful for having to stop for road work and meeting our friendly South Dakota flag lady!

Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.